Libya Govt: NATO Undermining Rebel Talks

Insists NATO Trying to Block Peace Deal

Speaking just one day after the East Libyan rebels publicly condemned the notion of the African Union ceasefire and peace talks, the Libyan government accused NATO of undermining its efforts at secret talks.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim insisted secret talks had been underway for some time, and that NATO’s opposition to a “peaceful settlement” was the primary reason they hadn’t made more progress.

The Italian government, which has broken with most of NATO in calling for a ceasefire in the nation, denied reports that they were involved in facilitating any of the talks, saying that any negotiations on Italian soil “did not amount to anything serious.”

Most of NATO’s belligerents in the war, however, do appear to be opposed in principle to the notion of a peace deal, with the US, British and French leaders all demanding that any end to the war involved the ouster of the Gadhafi government.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.